Himmler’s Diary 1945: A Calendar of Events Leading to Suicide

Himmler’s Diary 1945: A Calendar of Events Leading to Suicide is an exceptional work with unpublished diary entries made by Himmler that shows in detail how The Third Reich fell to ruin in its final bloody year.

Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler was instigator of the largest programme of racial mass murder in history. 1 January 1945 saw Heinrich Himmler at his peak in Nazi Germany, controlling the entire German police force (including the Gestapo), all SS organisations and Nazi Minister of the Interior. His powers extended into the German Army and included Commander of the Replacement Army and two Army Groups. Two field commands revealed his limitations and failure as army commander.

Between January and May 1945, Heinrich Himmler vacillated, showing a lack of vision, action and decision. At least he was able to gain control of V-2 rocket production and their launch against Britain. He ordered all concentration camp inmates be shot, before rescinding the order. When his SS generals asked for instructions, Himmler ordered them to show backbone as their commands had few bounds. The Swedes and Swiss negotiated with Himmler who allowed over 10,000 concentration camp prisoners taken to safety before Hitler intervened. Himmler conducted peace feelers via the Swedes before the German surrender in May 1945, while trying to make contact with British Field Marshal Montgomery. These contacts went unanswered. Himmler was captured by the British and then committed suicide on 23 May 1945.

THE AUTHORS

Stephen Tyas is a retired businessman and now a freelance researcher. He has published numerous articles on German Security Police operations between 1939-1945. Peter Witte and Stephen Tyas jointly published A New Document on the Deportation and Murder of Jews during ‘Einsatz Reinhardt’ 1942 (2001), the so-called Hoefle telegram.

Peter Witte, a retired teacher of German, politics and economics in Germany, is a freelance historian. He worked as a researcher and historical consultant for the BBC TV production The Nazis and in a similar position with German TV productions. Witte is co-editor of Dienstkalender Heinrich Himmler 1941/42 published in 1999.